Valve



A fie 742 Feb. 8,1927. J. H DERBY VALVE Filed Aug. 14. I1,924

IIIIU ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 8, 1927.

UNITED sg'lrr-Es-n PATENT ,Y OFFICE.

JOHN 1I. IDEBY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO H. DQRSEY SPENCER, 0F WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK.,

VALVE.

yApplication led August 14, 1924. Serial No. 731,982. l,

This invention relates to valves and particularly'to valve seats.

An object of the invention is to provide a permanently tight and yet non-sticking valve seat. Another object of the invention is to provide \a valve havin a plurality of seats which may be closed tightly at all its seats at the same time. y

lAn important feature of the invention is the provision of a flexible valve seat having a knife-edge contact which assures a tight closure and which will be self-cleaning and therefore' will retain its v original tightness eral type shown and described in my prior Patent No. 756,835, of April 12,1904.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 ,consists of a central vertical section of such a valve; and

Fig. 2v is an enlarged showing of one of i the seats thereof.

The valve illustrated comprises a casing 10 in which is formed a water supply chamber '11 with an inlet 12 and oppositely-disposed valve-controlled openings 13 and- 14. Open# ing 14l connects with a counter-pressure chamber 15; while opening 13 forms an.-

outlet into an ai'r atmospheric chamber 16 having an opening 18- into` a chamber 17 which communicates with the 'sprinkler system (not shown) throughan opening'20. The opening 18 is normally closed by a check valve 19 lwhich seats vagainst a seat ring 21 in thewall of atmospheric chamber. 16. Openings 13 and 14 yare adapted to beclosed by a thimbleeshaped valve 23 which is adapted to seat rigidly against a seat ring 24 in the wall of the atmospheric chamber 16,

and which has guide wings`25 thereon ex-v tending upwar along this wall. Valve 23 is normally he d inV closed position against' Ithe seat ring 24 by the pressure against its inner surface of a fluid medium in chamber 15. In the .particular embodiment of the'.

\with the outer air by means invention shown, this vfluid medium is th compressed air with whichthe pipes of al dry-pipe sprinkler system 'are filled. In

order to allow this compressed air to reach the counter-pressure chamber 15, this chamber 1s connectedto chamber 17 by means of a pipe 26. l

A tight closure of opening 14 is secured by a pair of flexible valve seats, each of which is held tightly against a rigid seat by fluid pressure.- upon its flexible member. The

side of `opening 14 toward chamben 15 is normally closed by means `of a ring 29 of flexible material, such as rubber, which is fastened on the base of valve 23 and extends outwardly therefrom so as to make contact, when the valve is in its closed position, with a seat ring 30 rigid with the casing 10 and is pressed thereagainst by the pressure medium in chamber 15. The side of" opening '14 toward chamber 11 is tightly closed, as is particularly illustrated in Fig. 2, by mean's'of a shoulder 32 formed on the valve 23 and having a sharp annular edge 33 which isadapted to be pressed against a flexible metallic ring 34 fastened to the casing and overlapping the shoulder 32. The provision vof iiexible members 29 and 34. insuresa substantially tight closure ofvalve 23'against seat ring 24 whether'-` or not the `distance .betweenthe seat members on the valve exactly correspond to the distance between the seat members on` the easing, and Whether yornot the expansion or contraction of the valve due to changing weather eonditionsexactly corresponds with the expansion or contraction of the casing.

It also elfectivelyprevents any substantial flow of fluid through opening 14 when the valve is closed, by utilizing the veryl pressures 'which would 'tend to cause such liow to maintain a tight closure of this opening.

For example, the'pressure of the fluid inthe supply chamber 15 will tend to press the Hexblel ring 34 against thev edge 33 of the shoulder 32, while the compressed air in chamber 15 will press Iiexible ring 29 against its seat ring 30. Seat members 33 and 34, moreover, form a self-cleaning seat, for eachv time the valve is opened and closed any sediment 'which has been deposited at the seat will be scraped of or shaken loose. Th'usIpovide a .valve seat the tight closure of which is' permanently assure An annular chamber 31, communicating of a draind 35,

maybe provided between the 'seat members 29 and 33 so that any air which may be forced past the valve seat 29-30 and any water which may escape between the valve laffect the balance of pressure by W 'seat 32-34L may readily escape so as not to bien the valve is maintained closed. There is also provided' a drain 40 for chamber 16. Drains 35 and 40 are preferably provided with ball drips which are normally open; but which are closed under the e'ect of pressure, so

` as-to .revent leakage of the supply'fluid automatic sprinkler systems.

To drain of the standemployed in when the valve 23 'is open. there may also be attached any ard alarm connections Yusually such as is adapted to ,close a supply chamber of aK dry-pipe automatic sprinkler system,

its will be' understood that the invention is by no means limited to use in such a valve, but may be embodied in valves suited to nu- Imerous other uses and of various other types.

In the claims the expression flexible ring lis' used in the same sense in which it has been l"used in the specification, that is to say, to define a ring which is capable of yielding to ymovements of considerable magnitude. The expression, does not include soft recessed packings or askets 'in rigid valves which are capable o only slight movement in a direction normal to their faces.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. A. valve member comprising in combination a valve casing, a valve, tWo valve seats, flexible rings bearing on said seats and being arranged to seat by pressure on the rings in oppositedirections, said seats and exible rings being so arrangedv as to divide the valve casing into three chambers, and

` means for normally maintaining a pressure ya flexible ring attached to said casing an inthe chamber between the flexible rings not in, excess ot' the pressure in either of the other two chambers.'

2. A valve member comprising in combination a valve casing, a valve, a valve lseat on said casing, a valve seat on saidnyalve bearing on the seat on the valve, a iexible ring attached to-the valve andbearing on the seat on the casing, said rings being seated by pressures in opposite directions,

saidseats and rings dividing the valve casing into three separate chambers, and means for maintaining the chamber between the flexible rings at a pressure normally not in excess of the pressure obtaining in either of the other two chambers.

3. A. valve member comprising in combination a valve casing, a valve, a seat on said valve and a seat on said casing, a flexible metallic ring attached to the casing and bearing on the seat on the valve, a ring of soft flexible elastic material attached to the valve and bearing on tlie seat on the casing, the rings being seated by pressures jin opposite directions and defining with the valve seats three separate chambersf` within the valve casing, and means for maintaining the pressure in the chamber defined between therings at a pressure normally not -in excess of that obtaining in either of the other two uchambers. f

4. In a valve of the character described, the combination with the casing providing" a valve chamber and having an inlet and a two opposed openings one of' which forms an outlet, of a valve adaptedl to close said openings substantially simultaneously and to open away from said outlet and] into an air-pressure chamber, the valve seat members being rigid at the outlet opening and comprising at the other opening a flexible ring carried by the valve casingy and located in position to overlap the corresponding seat member on the valve between the latter member and the valve chamber, a supplementary fiexible ringy carrier by the valve within tlie'air pressure chamber and adapted to seat against ai'supplementary seat member carried by the valve casing, and connections for supplying air under pressure to said pressure chamber'.

5. In a valve member, a casing forming a liquid supply chamber and a counter-pressure chamber, a connecting opening between said chambers, an outlet opening in said liquid supply chamber, a valve to close both saidopenings substantially simultaneously, cooperating rigid seat members on said casing and on said valve at said outlet, a rigid seat member on said casi-ng at the side .of said connecting supply chamber, a flexible seat member carried by 'the said valve and so located as to be held against the .last said seat member by vfluid pressure in said counter pressure chamber, a shoulder about said valve at the sideof said connecting opening toward said: supply chamber, and a iiexible metallic seat member carried 'by said casing and adapted to overlapsaid shoulder and to be held thereagainst by the liquid in saidsupply chamber when said valve is closed.

iio

opening toward said liquid- 6. A vvalve member comprising in combii natioii a supplypchamber, apair of oppositely disposed openings therein, a valve for closing said openings substantially simultaneously, a'rigid seat at one of said; openings, and means at the other of said openings for permanently assuring a tight closure of said valve, said means comprising a flexible 'metallic ring carried by the walls of said chamber, and a shoulder ,on said valve having a sharp annular edge adapted to bear against one of the surfaces of said ring, a valve seat on the casing of said chamber, and a ring of soft flexible elastic material carried by the valve and bearing on said seat, the soft liexible ring being closed by a pressure opposite to lthat which tends to force the metallic ring against its seat.

7. A valve vmember comprising a casing, a fluid supply chamber formed in said casing, an outlet for said chamber, a 'thimble .y shaped valve for closing said outlet, a rigid seat for said valve at said outlet, a second chamber, an opening between said chambers adapted to be closed by said valve,` a flexible metallic ring carried.. by the casing in said opening, a shoulder on the valve having a sharp annular edge adapted to bear agalnstv one of the surfaces of said metallic ring and so arranged that the ring is forced against the shoulder by the fluid pressure in the supply chamber, a valve seat in the casing at the mouth of the opening leading' into the second chamber, and a ring of soft liexible elas- 4tic material carried by the Valve and adapted' to bear against the seat in the casing under the influence of fluid pressure in the second chamber.

8. A valve member comprisin in combi- 'nation acasing, a fluid supp y chamber formed in "said casing, an outlet for said chamber, a thimble-shaped valve for closing said outlet, a rigid seat for said valveat said outlet, a second chamber, an opening between said chambers adapted to beclosed by said valve, a flexible metallic ring car-4 ried by the casing in said opening, a shoulder on said valve provided with a sharp annular edge adapted lto bear-against one of the surfaces of the ring, a second shoulder on said valve extending beyond the first shoulder and registering in a recess in the casing at the mouth of the opening into the second. chamber, a valveseat surrounding the edge of said recess, a ring of soft flexible material carried by the second shoulder of the valve and bearing against the seat in the casing, said soft flexible ring being normally held against the seat by a fluid pressure in the second chamber, and .means for draining the space between the second shoulder ofthe valve and the casing.

9; A fluid operated valve member comprising in combination a casing, a fluid supply chamber in saidv casing, an outlet from said chamber, a second chamber, an opening connecting the chambers, a valve provided with a rigid 'seat closlng the outlet, and two Vseats and flexible rings closing the opening between the chambers, said rings being actuated by forces in opposite directions and being so arranged that the valve tends to open both the opening and the outlet on reduction of fluidv pressure in the second chamber.

10.,A valve member, according toclaim 9, in which one of the exible rings is of metal and the other of a soft flexible v elastic material. t

11.- A fiuid operated valve member comprising in combination afluid'supply chamber, an outlet chamber communicatmgthere'.-

' with, a second chamber communicating'withthe fluid chamber through an opening, means for simultaneously establishing fluid pressure in the outlet and second-chambers,

a rigid valve seat on the outlet,vv a valve closing the outlet and the opening to the second chamber and having a face which bears on the rigid seat, a shoulder on the portion of the valve-closing the openng a flexible metallic ring attached to the casing i of the supply chamber in opening and'beare ing on the shoulder on the valve, said'metal ring being forced against the shoulder by fluid pressure in the supply chambera ring of soft flexible'elasti'c material on the valve, j and a seat on the casing-in the mouth of the opening into the second chamber, the soft flexible ring being adapted 'to bear against the seat and tending to be forced against the seat by fluid pressure in the second chamber, whereby the valvev is adapted to simultaneously open'boththe outlet'and '100 Y opening on reduction of pressure in the second chamber. i

- Signed at New York, Ne .v York, this I12th day of August, 1924. i n 'y JOHN H. DERBY. 

